Sorakaya/Bottle Gourd Sambar

Sorakaya/bottle gourd sambar

Sorakaya sambar is a simple and quick recipe which goes well with rice/South Indian breakfasts. The preparation of bottle gourd sambar is very easy if sambar powder is readily available. Bottle gourd sambar is similar to the other sambars with a different tempering. I’ve added crushed garlic along with tempering. Garlic gives very nice flavour to the sambar. Here I present tasty Sorakaya sambar which can be served as a side dish to steamed rice. Njoy Cooking, Serving n Savoring!

Author: Akshayakumbham
Course: Side dish
Cuisine: Andhra, India
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

Bottle gourd/ Sorakaya: One fourth part or one cup chopped pieces

Pigeon peas/Toor dal: 1 cup

Tamarind: lemon sized

Green chillies: 2 nos.(Optional)

Red chilli powder: 1 teaspoon

Sambar powder: 2 tsp

Salt: As required

Curry leaves: A sprig

Coriander leaves: Few

Turmeric: Generous pinch.

Tempering:

Oil: 1 1/2 tbsp

Mustard: 1 tsp

Fenugreek seeds: 7/8 nos.

Asafoetida/hing: A pinch

Garlic flakes: 2 nos.

Method of preparation:

1. Take one cup of toor dal in a vessel. Rinse with water and pour 2 1/2 cups of water. Keep aside.

2. Peel the skin and remove the seeds also. Rinse well with water. Chop the bottle gourd into bite size pieces and keep them in toor dal. Add green chillies and turmeric too.

3. Steam them in a pressure cooker along with rice for 5/6 whistles. Switch off the flame and allow to cool down.

4. Meanwhile soak tamarind in enough water for 20 minutes.

5. Now open the lid of the pressure cooker.

6. Extract tamarind water from soaked tamarind and pour into a heavy bottomed vessel. Heat the vessel and add required amount of salt, sambar powder.

7. Bring it to boil and add chopped coriander leaves.

8. Now add steamed toor dal and bottle gourd pieces. Mix thoroughly and boil them for 5 minutes. Adjust the quantity of water to get the desired consistency.

9. Heat oil for tempering in a small kadai. Put mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. When mustard splutter add a pinch of hing, curry leaves, crushed garlic and red chilli powder. Switch off the flame.